The Princess and the Pickpocket
by lolkittie64
Summary: Princess Amu isn't happy. She is destined to marry ruthless Prince Hotori against her will. But when a thieving black cat from the past comes along, everything changes. Amuto!


_1826, Tokyo, Japan._

Princess Amu opened her eyes slowly, staring at the creamy white ceiling above her.  
She arose from her four poster bed sleepily, stretching like a cat. The pinkette was still in her nightgown when she tiptoed over to her bedroom window to have a look at the people below. The streets were packed with busy people; Pacing, ambling, running, skidding, hopping, skipping, tumbling, striding. Amu sighed sadly. She was not a happy teenager.  
She had all she could ever want, you may think: Clothes, money, a kingdom.  
'But money,' she thought, staring out of her window. 'Cannot buy you happiness.' She was to marry a wealthy prince, Tadase Hotori. The princess had once liked him, a long time ago. But there was a huge difference between then and now. Back then, Tadase Hotori had been a cute, approachable boy with a warm smile. Now, he was an angry tyrant that couldn't wait until the day that his father retired, or worse, died, so that he could claim the title 'King Hotori'. He didn't care who he had to marry to get to that position; And it was clear that he would never truly love Amu.

She kept on looking out the window, but this time to the sky.  
It was a clear, powder blue with wisps of clouds scattered about. She liked to pretend that these clouds were memories of hers. A grey one would be a bad memory, and a white one would be a good one. She definitely had more good memories than bad, but she felt wistful of the memories that still kept her awake at night. She sometimes felt that this was not her destiny to be a princess.  
At the back of her mind, something was brewing. She felt disconcerted, as if something that she had forgotten was trying to wriggle its way back into her memory. She shook the feeling away.  
Amu moved away from her window to get dressed, and walked over to her wardrobe. She selected a pale blue laced dress with frilled skirts. Her mama had said she'd always looked lovely in it, and it matched the weather perfectly. If Amu were not a princess, she would have loved to be a fashion designer. The girl chose light blue elfin slippers to wear downstairs for breakfast, and got out her sketchpad. It reminded her of Miki, who she had last seen five years ago. She lightly sketched a pair of kid boots, with little white bows at the heels. She smiled as they reminded her of Suu, who, like Miki, disappeared five years ago.

Her maid, Natsuki, knocked at the princess's door, making Amu jump. Her pencil scrawled a line across her page. The pinkette sighed and tore out her page.  
"Come in" she called to her maid. Natsuki opened the door a fraction, and said in her husky voice,  
"Amu-chan, come downstairs for breakfast." The maid opened the door a little more, and stepped into her room.  
Natsuki did not look well; She had purple rings under her pale green eyes, and her apron was creased. She had obviously had not gotten enough sleep, and Amu feared this was her fault.  
She had failed to calm her sister, Princess Ami, when she had a nightmare. Natsuki had spent hours trying to get her to sleep, to no avail.  
"Natsuki, go back to bed. You look dead on your feet!" Amu exclaimed. Natsuki gave the princess a weary smile and shook her head.  
"Alas, I cannot Amu-chan. I need to make the breakfast." she answered.  
"It's okay, I'll make the breakfast. And if you give me your apron I'll iron that for you, too." Amu smiled. She liked Natsuki; She had cared for her ever since she was a baby, and had known her all her life.  
Natsuki gave Amu a nod and a smile, and retreated to her room in the scullery.

Amu trotted down the marble steps of the palace, down to the servant's kitchen. She could not believe the state it was in; Nothing like the kitchen down the hall. It had grease stains on the brick walls, the pots and pans on the draining board were all over in rust, the very floor was so greasy she had to clutch the unit to stay upright.  
She realized that this place had not been cleaned for a long, long time. At least the cookware was reasonably clean. She decided to make simple rice pancakes with maple syrup, a dish she had not eaten for some time. She boiled the rice into a syrup, and poured it into the pan where it hissed and sizzled. She waited until they were golden brown, when she flipped them. A pang of sadness ran through her mind as she remembered Suu. The pinkette served the pancakes with maple syrup, giving the dish a golden touch. She carried the four plates, wobbling precariously, down to the dining room where the rest of her family were waiting expectantly.

"Amu?" asked her mother doubtfully. She was wearing a dress similar to Amu's with a white ribbon, obviously without the apron, and brown ankle heels. Ami stared at Amu for a second before saying  
"Onee-chan, can I have my pancakes?" Amu smiled and gave Ami her plate. She wolfed it down in an unladylike fashion, not stopping to think why her sister was doing the servant's job.  
"Amu-chan, what are you doing? Where is Natsuki?" Queen Midori asked.  
"She's had to go up to her room to rest. Ami kept her up last night what with all her screaming." Amu answered, looking at Ami cautiously. Luckily, the little girl was too engaged in her pancake-gobbling to notice her being openly put down. The elder princess sat down to her pancakes. '_It isn't maidenly manners to praise your own work' _she thought to herself, chewing on her breakfast. '_But these are actually really good!'_ When she had finished her pancakes, she took the dishes up to the kitchen sink. She left them there, as she had never been a big fan of the dishes. Besides, she had the apron to iron. As the pinkette cut through the dining room to get to the scullery, her mother asked her  
"Amu, where are you going now?" Amu smiled at her mama and said,  
"To iron an apron." This took Queen Midori by surprise, as Princess Amu was not a particularly helpful girl, and complained sorely about helping around the house.  
_'Well, at least this is a sign of maturity'_ she thought as she adjusted her heels.

* * *

The princess was staring out of her window again. This time, she was looking down on the trees. The blossoming sakura trees. She watched as each intricate pink petal fluttered down to the floor. She liked to pretend that these petals were her feelings; Each petal that fell down expressed something different. She loved these trees and the way they flower, blossom and fall. She decided to go for a walk to clear her head of all her worries.  
She reached into her drawer to find her purse, and she set off towards the park.

The pinkette took off her elfin slippers; They wouldn't withstand the rough pavements of Tokyo. Instead, she put on her blue silk gaiters. She went out of the big brass double doors and breathed in the air. She walked and walked, and more people pointed and stared.  
She was beginning to get very uncomfortable indeed with all these people looking at her, so she started to run. The princess ran and ran until she reached her favourite place: The park. She sat down on a bench, and just stared.  
She tilted her pink-haired head to one side and let the sakura petals fall onto her. She felt so peaceful here; It was her favourite place to be, and she felt like a normal person without the pressure of royalty.  
The sun warmed her back; The trees swaying in the breeze sounded a summery rhythm; And she suddenly felt so sleepy, her eyelids were drooping right that minute. In a matter of seconds, the princess had fallen asleep. The petals covered her like a blanket, and she looked dead she was so still. The girl stayed in this state for hours, and kids crowded around her to see when the princess would wake up. She was like Sleeping Beauty.

When the princess woke up, a cascade of sakura petals fell from her as if she really were a sakura tree. She sat up slowly, rubbed her eyes, and walked to the edge of the park. She had only just walked on the pavement when a person in a hood jumped out at her. The pinkette screamed and tried to run, but the person had hold of her hair. She struggled in his grasp, and the man's hand slowly made its way to the back of her dress. Amu was frozen to the spot with fear. His hand hovered there suggestively, and then advanced to the ribbon. The girl looked around desperately, but no-one came to her rescue.  
He slowly untied the ribbon, but instead of doing what the girl thought he might, he put the ribbon in his pocket. With a deft movement of his hand, he took her purse and jumped up onto a nearby tree and away. As he did so, his hood came off and his head was exposed. His hair was a midnight blue. She had heard of rape before. This wasn't rape, it was theft. But only one person would steal so pervertedly. The blue haired thief was Tsukuyomi Ikuto.


End file.
